Tattnall County Man Pleads Guilty to Emissions Tampering and Tax Fraud
Justin Taylor, 30, of Collins, Georgia, has pled guilty in U.S. District Court to charges related to tampering with emissions controls on commercial logging equipment and tax fraud. The charges include Conspiracy to Tamper with a Monitoring Device, and Fraud and False Statement, according to Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Taylor faces a potential statutory sentence of up to five years in prison, significant financial penalties, and a period of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no possibility of parole in the federal system.
From January 1, 2018, to January 20, 2021, Taylor operated from his home and remote job sites, using a high-powered computer to perform emission-control “deletes” for over 200 diesel engine owners. This service, which disabled the required electronic monitoring devices under the Clean Air Act, was charged at $2,000 per job. Taylor earned more than $1.2 million but reported only $166,853 in income.
Taylor will pay $279,642 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, including accrued interest, due to falsifying his tax filings for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule Taylor’s sentencing after a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.
“Emissions controls on heavy duty commercial equipment exist to help prevent excessive pollution from diesel engines, and evading those controls makes the air dirtier and less safe for everyone,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “With this plea agreement, Justin Taylor will no longer profit at the expense of our communities.”
“Justin Taylor has pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and tampering with the emissions control equipment on hundreds of Tigercat brand heavy-duty diesel logging equipment throughout the Southeast,” said Acting Director Jennifer Lynn of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. “These crimes would increase air pollution which intensifies respiratory illnesses and environmental degradation. This guilty plea serves as a reminder that EPA and our partners are steadfast in our commitment to protect human health and the environment.”
“Justin Taylor assisted others in illegally evading EPA rules, receiving payments for it and failing to pay taxes on it,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigations. “Justin Taylor enriched himself substantially and did not fully report his income or pay taxes. IRS Special Agents will continue to investigate and hold tax cheats accountable.”
The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and IRS Criminal Investigations, with prosecution by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.
